The bill allowing civil unions for same-sex couples in Colorado got initial approval from the state Senate after about three hours of debate Friday, with one Republican joining Democrats in the vote.

“I support this bill as a Republican who is right of center,” said Sen. Ellen Roberts, R-Durango. “I believe strongly that individuals have the right to give their property to whomever they choose, and this bill encapsulates that right.”

It also supports family values, she said, because it promotes the family unit and “creates a structured, legalized framework for children to grow up in.”

A formal recorded vote is expected Monday. If Senate Bill 11 passes then, it will be sent to the state House.

Both chambers of the state legislature are controlled by Democrats.

Senate Bill 11, which details the rights and responsibilities of civil unions, is expected to pass the House, be signed by Gov. John Hickenlooper in March and made into law May. 1.

If this happens, Colorado will be the ninth state to have civil unions or a similar law.

Intense debate rallied over issues of violation of religious freedom, the will of the people and the ability of adoption agencies to refuse same-sex parents.

“If this were a simple bill, 33 of us would not look so tired and emotionally drained,” said Sen. Steve King, R-Grand Junction.

Complications include religious freedoms, economic issues and personal liberties, he said. “A number of unintended consequences that we have no idea about are out there for us in this bill,” King said.

The debate was particularly poignant for four new Senate Democrats who served in the House last year, when the 2012 civil-unions bill died a sudden death on the second-to-last night of the session.

Republicans filibustered that afternoon and into the evening and refused to call the bill up, knowing it had enough votes to pass.

“It was such a civil debate in the Senate, and it made me think of the incivility of the nondebate in the House last year,” said Sen. Andy Kerr, D-Lakewood, who had watched the bill die.

Bill sponsors Sens. Pat Steadman and Lucia Guzman, both Denver Democrats, said civil unions are an issue of civil rights.

Guzman thanked opponents for their civility and respect.

“I am a lesbian and in a committed relationship, but you also have the right to make your own decision,” she said. “I am also here asking you to be a little bit more open, to be able to walk with us on this journey that has taken so long.”

Steadman, whose partner of 11 years, Dave Misner, died from pancreatic cancer last year, made an impassioned speech in which he described Senate Bill 11 as “just another example of a law written to deal with life and death and everything in between.”

He said those who claim that religion “requires them to discriminate” have a choice.

“Go someplace where you can be as judgmental as you’d like,” he said. “Go inside your church, and if you want to, set up separate water fountains in there — if you can. But don’t claim your free exercise of religion requires the state of Colorado to maintain separate water fountains for her residents.”

Sen. Owen Hill, R-Colorado Springs, argued for an amendment that would have included exemption for religious organizations and businesses that did not want to recognize civil unions, and talked about Religious Freedom Day, which celebrates passage of Thomas Jefferson’s Statute for Religious Freedom in Virginia.

“Religious freedom is interwoven into the very fabric of our lives,” he said.

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